Reds sink the Crusaders

Reds captain Ben Daley scored a key try in a 20-12 victory over the Crusaders in a pre-season warm-up at Ballymore on Friday.

Reds captain Ben Daley scored a key try in a 20-12 win over the Crusaders in a pre-season warm-up on Friday.

2010 title hopefuls the Crusaders were without the likes of Dan Carter, Andy Ellis, Richie McCaw, Kieran Read and Brad Thorn but still managed to draw the try-scoring stakes with a score each from Thomas Waldrom and Jonathan Poff.

It was a tough match for the New Zealanders, who lost Ryan Crotty to concussion early on after he collided with an opponent when chasing a kick.

But the Reds proved the stronger on the day and thanks to the boot of Ben Lucas, Will Chambers and Ben Daley's scores were not in vein.

The scorers:

For Reds:
Tries: Daley, Chambers
Con: Lucas (2)
Pen: Lucas, Walsh

For Crusaders:
Tries: Waldrom, Poff
Con: Slade

Reds: 15 Peter Hynes (capt), 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Chambers, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Ben Lucas, 9 Richard Kingi, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Ezra Taylor, 5 Van Humphries, 4 Robert Simmons, 3 Dayna Edwards, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Jack Kennedy, 19 Adam Byrnes, 20 Andrew Shaw, 21 Lei Tomiki, 22 Jake Schatz, 23 Will Genia, 24 Tim Walsh, 25 Ben Tapuai, 26 Morgan Turinui, 27 Rod Davies, 28 Aidan Toua

Crusaders: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robert Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Kade Poki, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 George Whitelock (capt), 6 Ash Parker, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Ben Franks.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Isaac Ross, 19 Jonathan Poff, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Daniel Bowden, 22 Adam Whitelock, 23 Tim Bateman, 24 Matt Todd, 25 Andrew Olorenshaw, 26 Peter Borlase.